The five surviving partners of the legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python will reunite for the first time since the 1989 death of member Graham Chapman at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., that's skedded to run March 4-8.
Festival will include a retrospective and career tribute to the troupe, with comedian Robert Klein moderating a panel discussion and tossing questions at troupe members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
Speaking from London, Palin told Daily Variety on Wednesday that the evening event -- which will be taped and packaged as an hour special for telecast March 21 at 11 p.m. on HBO -- will not be a Python performance as such but "could include a sketch or two."
"The problem now is we're all very old and our sense of hearing is not what it used to be, though we still manage to walk unaided," Palin quipped. At least, it sounded like a quip.
Monty Python was formed 29 years ago when the BBC signed the troupe to star in the classic British series "Monty Python's Flying Circus," which ran from 1969 to '74. Five feature films followed, including "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Monty Python's Life of Brian" and "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life."
The individual members more or less went their separate ways in the mid-1980s, with Gilliam directing such movies as "Brazil," "12 Monkeys" and the upcoming "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." But Palin said that the men still keep in fairly close touch and have "a great feeling of affection" for one another.
"We've considered getting together before, but there's been this feeling that we aren't quite complete without Graham and it would always be so," Palin said.
He insisted there are no plans for any Python collaboration beyond the Aspen festival.
"But when we meet up together face to face, there's always the chance that something may come of it," he added. "If we have a good time in Aspen, that may just mean that we'd consider a future project -- most likely a movie, I would think. That would be our best proposition for a full-scale reunion."
Indeed, as Palin has come to understand, being part of Python means never really knowing what may lurk around the corner.
"We've never really followed any rules at all with Python," he said. "We're a spontaneous lot. It's more fun that way."
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